(1) Daniela Hantuchova versus Tamira Paszek
This is the first meeting between the two players, but certainly Hantuchova walks on the court by far the more experienced player. Currently world ranked 11, early this season Hantuchova reached first career Grand Slam semi-final at Australian Open, while 17 years old Paszek reached her first Tier I quarter-final at Montreal and defeated top seed Ivanovic en route. Paszek finished the fourth round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year and climbed to No. 35 in the rankings. But she has struggled this year and arrived here at number 85. Nevertheless, Paszek is the only unseeded player in this last four round of the Commonwelath Bank Tennis Classic.
Out of the tour for 10 weeks due to stress fracture, Hantuchova has been struggling with her performance since Wimbledon up to US Open and she is certainly happy to be in semi-final here. In the last two matches against Savchuk and Chan, it was obvious that Hantuchova looked rusty in her overall game. In order to win the battle, Hantuchova needs to utilize her solid ground strokes off both wings. Her movement will be crucial indeed in covering the court and she is to make sure to mix it up as much as possible and not allow the teenager to just fire away.
Can Paszek prevail? Indeed, she has a chance. After all she was capable of edging Ivanovic in a bigger event. If she can keep her nerve, throwing a bet on her hefty underdog odds would payout nicely. Paszek needs to maintain her patience combined with tenacity and a whiplash backhand. It is important for her to be aggressive all the time so that she can produce surprising winners. She needs to go for her big shots and connect on crucial points.
(2) Patty Schnyder versus (4) Nadia Petrova
In this afternoon's semi-final, it is going to be their twelve meetings. At this point, lefty Schnyder still leads 6-5 overall. But in the last meeting at Toronto in 2007, Petrova won the battle in two sets, 6-4, 6-1. Reaching two quarter-finals at French Open 2008 and recent US Open could bring Schnyder high confidence as she demonstrated in her victory over Domachowska yesterday. On the other hand, Petrova who had her best ranking at WTA 3 in 2006, she has been working hard to bring back her fine form and so far in her only 2nd visit to Bali after 2004, Petrova has been showing solid game with strong ground strokes.
It will be an interesting match for sure. Schnyder will rely on her top spins most of the time. Her persistence and patience will be crucial in long rallies. While Petrova must be strong in her serve along with her blistering forehand to penetrate Schnyder's defense. Only the player with better mental toughness and sound strategy will prevail eventually.
Photos - courtesy of Aussie Open.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar